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Public Safety

If you’re planning on walking off some pounds after the holidays, you might want to avoid the Bayo Canyon trailhead for a few days until things cool off.
The Los Alamos Fire Department recently announced that it will have a prescribed burn in the area Jan. 9-10.
According to LAFD’s Wildlands Division Chief Ramon Garcia, residents are still allowed to access the area, but they should be prepared for smoke.
The LAFD, along with the fire crews from the U.S. Forest Service, have spent the last months clearing the area and have arranged dead wood and other flammable debris into 4-by-4 foot piles along the trail, and come Jan. 9, they’re all going up in smoke during a carefully monitored operation.
The fire will happen during the day, Garcia said.
Crews are waiting until Jan. 9 because the more snow and rain they get in the area, the safer the operation will be.
The area comprises about 60 to 70 acres of scrub and trees.

Police Beat items are compiled from public information contained in Los Alamos Police Department Records. Charges or citations listed in Police Beat do not imply innocence or guilt. The Los Alamos Police Department uses the term “arrest” to define anyone who has been physically arrested, served a court summons, or issued a citation.

Dec. 16

10:47 p.m. — Dustin Nelson, 25, of Los Alamos was arrested through a Los Alamos Municipal Court warrant at the Los Alamos Justice Center. The original charge was aggravated operating a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor at Canyon Road on May 18.

Dec. 11

10:22 p.m. — Kenneth Hagedorn, 33 of Los Alamos was arrested for aggravated assault in the 1000 block of Sioux.

Dec. 12

12:06 p.m. — A 59-year-old Los Alamos man reported to police he was the victim of criminal damage to property (less than $1000) at Dogwood Street.

9:46 p.m. — A 17-year-old Farmington teen was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant from another jurisdiction at the Los Alamos police station.

10 p.m. — Gilbert Romero, 33 of Cordova was arrested for unlawful use of a license and driving when privilege to do so has been withdrawn. Defendant was arrested on Trinity Drive.

Police recently issued an arrest warrant for an employee who worked at Smith’s Grocery on Trinity Avenue.
The employee, a cashier named Theresa J. Watson that worked at the Los Alamos store, is accused of stealing about a thousand dollars through a scheme that involved voiding out items she scanned through her register, according to store management.
Her managers caught onto her scheme in September, when they noted Watson was racking up a high number of voided transactions at her station.
According to police, a videotape revealed how she carried out her plan. Watson would scan in all of the customer’s items, then she would then give that price to the customer.
Then, when the customer was not looking, Watson would void out an item, but the customer would still pay the full price for their groceries and other items.
The management also noted Watson only did this with cash transactions, allegedly in order to better cover her tracks.
Another odd detail that gave away Watson’s embezzlement scheme is that Watson would total the transactions in such a way that the customers always seemed to have exact change. Management apparently recorded over a hundred transactions that occurred this way.

The Los Alamos Police Department hosted its first awards banquet Saturday at Fuller Lodge to honor employees for their performance and service to the community.
A total of 35 awards were handed out for those displaying outstanding customer service and initiative. Awards included recognition for developing programs to assist the homeless and victims of domestic violence, locating lost and injured hikers, solving several crime sprees, and maintaining excellence in various administrative duties.
Further, LAPD recognized eight employees in seven different categories at the banquet for being the best in their fields for the year.
Chief Dino Sgambellone, who handed out awards, said it was important to recognize those who went “above and beyond” while performing day-to-day operations.

They don’t know when or how it went missing, all the owner and the employees of the Manhattan Project restaurant know is the money is gone.
Sometime last week, someone helped themselves to the Manhattan Project’s “Horses For Heroes” contribution jar. According to restaurant owner Victor Medina, the jar was sitting at the hostess desk when someone discovered all the fives 10s and 20s were missing.
According to Medina, about $200 was taken.
“You left all the dollar bills and for this we are thankful, but you took all the $5, $10 & $20s out of the jar at the hostess station located at the front of the restaurant. Please consider returning the money, “ wrote Medina in a letter to the local media.
Medina, who’s been around horses all his life, said he first got involved with the Horses For Heroes program when they did a presentation at the Rotary Club of Los Alamos. At one point, Medina and some other volunteers went down to the Santa Fe ranch where the HFH program is based and cleared land for them as well as doing other chores.
Medina and the others also donated tools and other equipment the ranch may need.
For Medina, a disabled Vietnam veteran, the organization and what its trying to do for veterans just made sense to him.

Police Beat items are compiled from public information contained in Los Alamos Police Department Records. Charges or citations listed in Police Beat do not imply innocence or guilt. The Los Alamos Police Department uses the term “arrest” to define anyone who has been physically arrested, server a court summons, or issued a citation.
Nov. 20

10:14 a.m. ­— Rowena MacDonald, 48 was arrested on a felony warrant from another jurisdiction at the Los Alamos County police department.
Nov. 21

12:51 p.m. — Andres Dow, 18, of Los Alamos was arrested for harassment at the Los Alamos County police department.

2:48 p.m. — Marcos Vigil. 28, of Ojo Caliente was arrested through a felony warrant from another jurisdiction The Los Alamos County police department.

2:59 p.m. — A 58-year-old Los Alamos man reported to police he was the victim of identity theft.

Nov. 22

5:25 p.m. ­— A 30-year-old Los Alamos man reported to police he was the victim of criminal damage to property (Less than $1000) at DP Road.

10:17 p.m. — Burgandy Brock, 23, of Los Alamos, was arrested on a charge of battery against a household member in the 2000 block of 45th Street.
Nov. 23

Robbin Wood, a Los Alamos man who is a suspect in a fatal drunk driving accident that happened on N.M. 30 Saturday, is still being held in the Los Alamos Detention Center on an unrelated parole/probation violation as of press time Tuesday.
According to th Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department, Wood was driving his Chevrolet Impala on N.M. 30 in the San Ildefonso Pueblo Saturday when he crashed the vehicle head on into another car driven by Elizabeth Quintana, 37.
Wood’s car apparently swerved into the southbound lane and ran into Quintana, who was driving a Chevrolet Cavalier. The accident took place around 4:45 a.m. Saturday The sheriff’s department said Quintana was on her way to work at Smith’s grocery store in Los Alamos.
Wood, 36, was traveling with an unidentified 40-year-old woman. She was injured. Wood was airlifted to Christus St. Vincent in Santa Fe after the crash and the passenger was taken by ambulance to the Española hospital. Quintana was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said Wood and his passenger were traveling from Los Alamos to a residence in Española at the time.
Wood is being held by the Los Alamos Police Department on an unrelated parole/probation violation.

‘Tis may be the season for home repair before winter finally settles in, but beware of who you hire. Judging by one incident that recently happened, not all workers may have the holiday spirit or your best interests at heart.
One Los Alamos resident found this out the hard way when after a maintenance crew visited her home to do some work in October, more than $2,500 worth of jewelry and other valuables went missing.
Items included a 14-karat, custom-made gold ring, valued at $2,500, a 14-karat gold and ruby ring valued at $350 and a gold and crystal ring worth $100.
The accused, David Hernandez, address unknown as of press time, would have probably pulled off the heist if it weren’t for the fact that he got a little too greedy and threw the victim’s iPhone in with the rest of his alleged haul.
The victim, noting that the phone was also missing, called her phone company where they were able to track the phone to Santa Fe, where the workers returned to after they left her house.
She called their employer, who did his best to track down Hernandez through his father, but was unsuccessful. Police were later able to locate, contact and identify Hernandez through their database. He was not arrested, but he was summoned to appear in court Nov. 24 where the accusations were read against him.

Police Beat items are compiled from public information contained in Los Alamos Police Department Records. Charges or citations listed in Police Beat do not imply innocence or guilt. The Los Alamos Police Department uses the term “arrest” to define anyone who has been physically arrested, served a court summons, or issued a citation.
Nov. 6

10:09 a.m. — Nicole White-Chapman, 31, of Los Alamos was arrested for possession of a controlled substance at the Los Alamos Justice Center.

10:31 a.m. — Neven Farquhar, 19, of Los Alamos was arrested for driving on a suspended or a revoked license on West Road.
Nov. 7
9 a.m. — A 15-year-old Los Alamos teen was arrested for criminal trespass in the 2000 block of 41st Street.

Nov. 8

8:08 p.m.— Shawn Deryke, 44 of Los Alamos was arrested through a Los Alamos County Magistrate Court bench warrant at 2356 45th Street. The original charge was for aggravated driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of .16 or more on West Road on Sept. 1.

2:37 p.m. — Brandi Ortiz-Merrifield, 20, of Chimayó was arrested through a Los Alamos County Bench Warrant at the Los Alamos Justice Center. The original charge was conspiracy, at Sereno on Aug. 7.

Police Beat items are compiled from public information contained in Los Alamos Police Department Records. Charges or citations listed in Police Beat do not imply innocence or guilt. The Los Alamos Police Department uses the term “arrest” to define anyone who has been physically arrested, server a court summons, or issued a citation.

Nov. 2

11:32 p.m. — David Hernandez, 18, of Santa Fe was arrested for larceny (Over $2500, less than $20,000) at the Los Alamos County Police Department.

10:14 p.m. — Gilbert Maestas, 32, of Santa Cruz was arrested for driving with a suspended or revoked license at the corner of Rover Boulevard and State Road 4.
Nov. 3

9:32 a.m. ­— A 61-year-old Jemez Springs man reported to police he was the victim of forgery at Diamond Road.

9:45 a.m. ­— A 75-year-old San Juan Pueblo woman reported to police she was the victim of forgery at Trinity Drive.

12:03 p.m.— Melissa Carpenter 38, of Chimayo was arrested through a Los Alamos County District Court Warrant at the Los Alamos County Justice Center. The original charge was shoplifting (less than $100) on Sherwood Boulevard, Nov. 8, 2013.